McLaren Set To Run Higher Wing Spec At Spain

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh has confirmed that the Woking-based team will be running a higher spec nose during this weekends Spanish Grand Prix, after successfully testing such a design at the Mugello test last week. This particular design features long pillars to the actual wing, and moves the design of the front nose closer to that of the platypus stepped design of the other teams on the grid.

During a phone-in with title sponsor Vodafone, the McLaren boss confirmed that the new design will be featured on the cars during this weekends race, with a strong likelihood that the design will remain on the cars throughout the race itself on Sunday.

“There’s a reasonable chance we will see it on Sunday, which will be the first time our drivers experience it,” Explained Martin Whitmarsh. “We got a lot of feedback from Mugello, so we have the data to set it up and can find the performance on track.”

The meaning behind the change in design is in aid of helping the airflow towards the rear of the car, which in turn is expected to assist McLaren back to the sharp end of the field in Spain. The Woking-based team suffered a disastrous Bahrain Grand Prix, with Jenson Button retiring and Lewis Hamilton suffering embarrassingly messy pit-stops which put pay to any reasonable result.

Throughout the Mugello test, eager eyes were fixed on the various teams up and down the paddock as to whether any were testing the Mercedes ‘super-DRS’, which has assisted the Silver Arrows throughout qualifying so far this year. Many believed a slightly thicker rear-wing endplate were tail-tail sings of McLaren experimenting with the device, however confirmation that this was the case have yet to arise. 

McLaren are the second most successful Constructor at the Spanish Grand Prix, having won the race eight times. The team will be hoping this new spec front wing enables them to make that nine victories in Spain by the end of the weekend.

Picture Copyright © LAT Photographic